The difference between "bulking", and "leaning out", or gaining muscle and losing weight, is that when you're bulking, you need a calorie surplus, and when you're leaning out you need a calorie deficit. How can you do this at the same time? It's impossible. If your goals are to gain muscle and lose fat, you need to use a way of alternating between bulking up and leaning out that works for you. Some people alternate every three months, some alternate weekly, different people have different results.

For the best results, most people find three months of bulking followed by three months of losing weight to be effective. One reason for this is that when you have more muscle mass you burn more calories, so after a good period of muscle building, the cutting stage will be more effective and you will get more lean.

Now it is possible to build muscle without gaining weight, and to do that you need to be in the gym 4-5 days per week, for 45 minutes to an hour, putting some good stress on your muscles for bulking.

If you're trying to lean out or cut, it's all about burning. Your workouts need to be focused on burning as many calories as possible. Five or six days a week you need to do some kind of cardio, whether that be team sports, sprinting, running, biking, or elliptical machines.

Nutrition

Nutrition is extremely important to reaching your fitness goals. 80% of your results will come from nutrition and diet, the other 20% will come from your physical activity.

One area people trying to lose weight often trip up is calories in beverages. Our bodies aren't used to processing liquid calories, so we don't feel full after consuming them, but they will hurt you just as much if you're trying to lose weight. Stick to water, green tea, and cut out soda, juice, and other high-calorie beverages.

For building muscle, you need to consume more calories than you burn. It's important not to consume empty calories from sugars and sauces, and protein is necessary for building muscle, but without a calorie surplus you will not grow.

If you are passionate about Fitness and Nutrition and you want to take it to the next level contact Coach Kim Taylor and she can get you IFA Certified and ready for a rewarding career in this awesome industry!!!!!!!!